Crossword Genius

How a dog can keep a monarch out (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

barking

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'how a dog can keep a' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'monarch out' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'monarch' could be 'king' (king is a kind of monarch) and 'king' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'bar' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for barking that I've seen before include "What Battersea resident may be doing" , "Mad - town forming a London borough with Dagenham" , "Area of London - mad?" , "Mental" , "Dog may be" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.